One of the best decisions I made for enhancing my plant-smart kitchen was the investment into an Instant Pot IP DUO60. The Instant Pot brand name is easily recognizable, and in the world of kitchen appliances has started to become "timeless" much like KitchenAid mixers.

Anyone who knows me personally (or through my YouTube videos), will know that I do not typically make decisions lightly. I would rather not spend hard earned money over and over again because something is not reputable - or, in the case of kitchen appliances, because they start out working great but end up breaking down after just a few months (or years). I have had my Instant Pot for a year now, and it continues to work well, bringing to life with ease some great vegan dishes ranging from simply slow cooked beans to more complex dinner meals and everything in between.

10 Reasons to Buy an Instant Pot IP DUO60

1. Affordable price. Let's just face the facts, if you want a good quality pressure cooker at a low cost, the Instant Pot IP DUO60 is a great option. There are many more expensive models available, as well as other pressure cooker brands, but simplicity and functionality meet at a nice intersection of affordability and quality.

2. Easy of use. The Instant Pot is a great pressure cooker with all of the necessary functionality for creating pressure cooked meals without the hassle of overly complicated electronics and too many buttons. If you are following some great Instant Pot recipes that also mention the cooking pressure settings and cook time, you virtually have little to think about. Fortunately, this pressure cooker is great for experimenting with meals yourself as you become more used to its functionality.

3. Energy efficient. Like most modern household appliances, the Instant Pot is made to be energy efficient - which translates to not a significant increase in your electricity bill. Depending on frequency of use, you may not even notice an impact to your utility bill at the end of the month.

4. Compact for easy storage. Some pressure cookers on the market can come in odd shapes and sizes, making storage difficult, especially if you have limited cabinet space. This model of Instant Pot is relatively small and circular shaped, making storage very easy.

5.Different cook times for a variety of foods. Depending on the food you are looking to prepare in the Instant Pot and the amount of time you are willing to spend waiting, the cook times can range from a few minutes to several hours. Experimenting with these cooking times have been fun to see how it impacts the flavor - even of simple vegan meals I like to prepare like rice, beans, potatoes, and Swiss chard.

6. Removes the need to constantly monitor the stove top. Cooking food in a traditional stove top pot often requires a good deal of monitoring. From checking to make sure things are not burning, water didn't evaporate too quickly, and the need to stir every minute or two, the Instant Pot pressure cooker eliminates the need to constantly check on the food you are preparing. Basically, you can "set it and forget it." Of course, when you are first experimenting with the Instant Pot, you will probably check on it often just to see that its performing like you expect, but for myself, after a year of use I tend to just set it early on in the day and come back to it in a few hours when my food is prepared without problems!

7. Easy to clean. While the Instant Pot IP DUO60 might look like a complicated machine on the outside, it is actually very simple. A great part of this simplicity is the ease of cleaning once you are done with it. Made out of stainless steal, it is dishwasher safe and also easy to clean by hand if that is your prepared method.

8. Can help you prepare bulk food for the week. A struggle many active, working people have is finding time to prepare healthy foods. It is one of the reason fast-food restaurants and microwavable meals have become so popular. For myself, between working outside in my garden regularly and working my regular day job as a contractor, it can be tiring to spend a long time in the kitchen from time to time (as I much as I enjoy this!). Having the ability to put the food in, set the timer and pressure settings, and forgetting about it makes it easy to prepare. It's possible to put in enough of some foods to last you for several days or even a week, helping to save you some time.

9.Instant Pot has multiple cook settings. One of the fun parts about the Instant Pot IP DUO60 is the cooking options. You can, of course, use it as a traditional pressure cooker, but you may like experimenting with settings to use it like as a slow cooker or to create a porridge,

10. Adds variety to your vegan dishes. One of the toughest parts about switching to a whole foods, plant-based diet is having a sense that their is variety to the food I am eating. This diet could certainly be bland if done wrong - after all, no one should really live on just raw carrots, plain white rice, and baked potatoes every day (as good as that meal sounds once in a while!). Consider the difference in flavor a baked potato has compared to one prepared on a skillet. Now add to the mix a pressure cooked potato. They are all great, and the pressure cooker just adds one more option to the mix. It can bring new life to simple ingredients, and creating unique meals is easy too!

Great Deals on Instant Pot Online!

While I use the Instant Pot IP DUO60, you may find other models to better suit your needs. From what I can tell, the differences really come down to the size of the pot (larger models will allow you to prepare more food at once) and some different settings.